Breads

I’ve been making this recipe for a long, long time. I used to sell it, made-to-order, around the holidays. It makes the house smell great and I always got fabulous feedback…even from my girlfriend who bought a batch to take up to a family brunch 2 hours away…appearently, they were still warm, gooey and addictive even after a few hours in a car. You can’t really say that for the real Cinnabons, can you?

Logan,3, taste-testing the flour for the cinnamon rolls. I tried to tell him it didn’t taste like sugar, but he wanted to findout for himself.

Like every food on here, Cinnamon Rolls are special to me. My mom used to make them every Christmas Morning. My eldest cousin, Jennifer, and I used to split a Cinnabon at the mall and talk about boys and life; she is five years older than me and was always–ALWAYS–the cool person I wanted to be. So if Jennifer liked Cinnabons, then I knew I should, too.

…and even now as an adult, I still do. But I think it is cooler to make them myself. :)

Special Equipment: you will need a bread machine, rolling pin, a pastry brush, and some type of large baking dish with sides.

So, how exactly can I post an Amish bread recipe for a bread machine with a straight face?

I can’t.

Thank goddness I have a bread machine.

This is a family favorite bread I’ve been making for about three or four years. It works great with dinner, soups, stews and even as sandwich bread…which is how we will be using it this week as the Bread Gnomes have struck again and eaten all the store-bought, sliced bread. Ahem.

It is quick and easy white bread…and cheap, too. Plus, home made bread can be much, much healthier for you and the family. And, if nothing else, it does make the house smell great.

Oh, and it’s dairy-free, too.

Ah, bread machine, how I love thee. I dump in ingredients, press a button, and you do all the work for me. No kneading; no mess; no watching the clock for exact rising and resting periods. Truly, good bread machines are worth every penny.

For six more ways to make bread machines worth their cost, check out this article at sheknows.com which states (far better than I could) exactly why bread machines kick ass, and how to make them even more awesome.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

2 3/4 cups bread flour

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

18 tablespoons warm water

DIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select White Bread cycle; press Start.

When the dough has raised once and second cycle of kneading begins, turn machine off. Reset by pressing Start once again. This gives the dough two full rising cycles before the final rising cycle prior to baking.

I finally opened it to make some ebelskivers. I’ve also been feeding them to Logan, one cup at a time…which works really, really well since we’re trying to crack down on his using his fingers to eat everything and encourage him to use silverware and, when eating blueberries, you can tell if you’ve used your fingers or not–hilarity.

So here is the best blueberry muffin recipe I could find. I’m going to add in some of those rolled oats we have so much of (again, thanks, Costco!) to add some fiber and bulk.

I don’t remember when I created this recipe; all I remember is that it changed my life.

I know it must seem like I say that a lot; it must seem like I didn’t have much of a life if a recipe for Banana Bread changed it. Maybe I didn’t have much of a life. Maybe none of us do until we discover The Recipe that defines us, the one that becomes our go-to treat for bake sales, fun kid snacks or rainy days.

When my son was 2-years-old I would make this in place of muffins or cupcakes. I made two or three batches a week. We’d whip up a batch, put it in the Nordicware cupcake molds for cars or bugs or dinosaurs, and freeze them.

Make it fun, use a bug mold like this from NordicWare

Bugs, cars and dinosaurs are a lot more fun to eat for breakfast than slices of bread, you know. Especially when you are two-years-old.

I like that the recipe doesn’t use a ton of sugar. I also like that it includes a decent amount of oatmeal, so it is somewhat filling. You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top if you want, or eat it plain. It is glorious both ways.

I used to sell this for $10 a loaf. In Idaho. That’s saying something.

To make Dairy-Free: use Earth Balance in place of butter or shortening.

Ingredients:

I put over-ripe bananas in freezer bags, mash, and freeze for use later.

Pour (scoop!) in to a well-greased pan (I suggest using real butter instead of spray..makes an amazing buttery-crisp crust). Bake 45-55 min as a loaf of bread. Less if making muffins. I pulled today’s loaf out at 43 minutes because that was when a knife inserted came out clean…but keep in mind that if you triple the banana a knife may never come out clean, and that’s OK, too.
If you have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, like Ada, then you will have a very easy time with this recipe. Heck, you don’t even need to mash the bananas ahead of time, you can just slip them in.
You can use more than 1 c mashed bananas. I have been known to use up to 3 cups. :) I’ve also been known to add in cinnamon and more oats, just because I can.

And, I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t resist including Mr. Bourdain. It’s a post about bananas, for goodness sake. No food is more phalic other than, perhaps, my hometown’s own Geoduck. Did you happen to see that episode of No Reservations? Where Tony ate Geoduck in the Seattle area? Was it as good for you as it was for me? (6:43 mark; watch from 4:00 on.)